A man lost his Mahindra Thar car to four robbers near Sohana Hospital in the early hours of Sunday.

The victim Deepak Aggarwal from Mandi Gobindgarh told the police that he had come to Mohali to meet someone. At the time of the incident, he was accompanied by a woman in his car when the four hijackers, who were driving a Maruti car, intercepted his vehicle around 3 am. The incident was caught on a nearby CCTV camera.

In the CCTV footage, Aggarwal, a property dealer by profession, was seen having a long altercation with the accused before taking off in his vehicle.

Police said, according to the victim, that it was initially a case of road rage as he accidentally rammed his car into the accused’s vehicle. Enraged by the incident, the accused intercepted him near Sohana hospital, exchanging heated arguments for over 15 minutes. After freeing the victim’s car from its occupants, they eventually fled in both vehicles.

Police said the victim then called his friend at the spot and informed the police, following which a PCR and Sohana police reached the spot.

Meanwhile, the police are also looking into a honey trap angle and are also probing the woman’s role in the incident.

A senior police officer said that investigators have gathered vital clues about the accused and the suspects would be arrested soon.

“It is not exactly a case of car theft as the victim and the accused initially had an argument, after which the accused took his car. Our teams are tracking them through CCTV and human intelligence and they will soon land in the police net. However, it is also possible that it was a case of honey trap,” said a senior police officer.

A case has been registered under Section 309 (robbery) of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita (NBS).

However, Mohali SSP Deepak Pareek said that an investigation into the case is underway. “We are making sincere efforts to reduce street crime as we have identified the hot spots for ripping off and are in the process of installing CCTV cameras. Regular patrols are also carried out under the supervision of senior police officers. Once the accused is arrested, it will be clear whether the accused stopped him with the intention of snatching the car or not.”

This is the second car robbery in less than 10 days after a local man was robbed of his car and mobile phone at gunpoint by four persons in Sector 86, Mohali, on the morning of October 26. The Sohana police have booked four people, including a woman, in the case.

Previous incidents of carjacking

October 7: A taxi driver was robbed of his car and a mobile phone by two men posing as passengers at gunpoint near Sector 85-86 in Mohali around 4 am. The accused were arrested by the police

September 29: Three men robbed his taxi on a service lane near Chatt light point in Zirakpur. The accused were later arrested.

July 21: A taxi driver was robbed of his car, two mobile phones and ₹2,400 four men posing as passengers near Delhi Public School, Chappar Chiri, in the early hours of Sunday. The accused have been arrested.